Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the new AMG GT R at the Brooklands race track in Surrey.
As the third member of the AMG GT family, the new model will spearhead the AMG range when it officially launches in November.
Based on the Nürburgring 24-hour race-winning GT3, the car is powered by a 577 bhp twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine mated to a revised seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Top speed is listed at 198 mph, while 0-62 mph takes a claimed 3.6 seconds.
Finished in “AMG green hell magno” – said to be a visual link to the “Green Hell”, the nickname for the “North Loop” of the Nurburgring – the car sits on 19″ wheels at the front and 20″ ones at the rear; the side walls at the rear have been widened by 57 mm to create space for the larger rims and tyres.
The designers also claim the wider design of the rear fascia with its large outer vent openings and vertical swaging improves the airflow at the back, as does the double diffuser.
There’s also a new active diffuser element concealed, almost invisibly, in the underbody in front of the engine. At a speed of 50 mph in Race mode, this carbon component, weighing about two kilograms, automatically moves downward by about 40 mm and changes the airflow. It is further claimed to reduce front-axle lift by around 40 kg at 155 mph.
Combined, all of the additional aerodynamic measures increase the car’s surface contact at top speed by 155 kg compared with the regular AMG GT.
The GT R also weighs in 15 kilograms lighter than the AMG GT S, despite incorporating more technical features such as the large, carbon-fibre rear aerofoil and the active rear-wheel steering; the latter being used for the first time on a Mercedes-AMG model.
Chassis modifications, meanwhile, include a reworked double wishbone suspension with the steering knuckles and hub carriers on the front and rear axle manufactured out of forged aluminium in order to reduce unsprung weight. In addition, the rear axle is fitted with a thicker tubular anti-roll bar.
Source: Mercedes-Benz
